Advocates and Family Demand Answers After NYPD Shoots Black Queer Man

Community members and advocates are demanding answers after a Black queer man was shot and killed by police officers while at his apartment in the Bronx, New York. On April 14, 32-year-old Kawaski Trawick called 911 and said that he was locked out of his apartment at Hill House, a social services center for people with mental health issues and addiction and that his apartment was on fire. The New York Fire Department (NYFD) responded to the scene around 10:50 p.m. and forced the door open, but determined the apartment was not on fire. The New York Police Department (NYPD) said that it received two 911 calls from Trawick’s neighbors, who claimed he was threatening people...

A person’s limbs are smaller targets and so generally harder to hit than the torso, especially when firing quickly in a stressful situation. That’s why police are trained to shoot for the “center of mass.”